Divisioti'IBS  24-Z4 


Section   »^^  ^ 


THE  PUBLIC  MINISTRY 
OF  JESUS 


BY 


y 


HORACE  DAVIS 


BOSTON 
AMERICAN  UNITARIAN  ASSOCIATION 

1911 


THE    PUBLIC    MINISTRY 
OF   JESUS 


THE  PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

I  SHALL  try  to  tell  you  the  story  of  Jesus,  in 
simple,  human  terms,  having  due  regard  to  its 
historical  setting.  It  is  a  wonderful  life,  and 
has  had  more  power  over  men  and  women  than 
any  other  life  ever  passed  on  this  earth.  To  me 
it  is  very  real,  and  if  I  can  make  it  as  real  to 
you  I  shall  be  satisfied.  I  shall  follow  in  the 
main  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  because  it  is  the  old- 
est, hence  the  nearest  to  the  facts,  the  simplest, 
and  has  the  most  continuous  story. 

THE    GALILEAN    MINISTRY 

The  opening  note  of  time,  however,  comes 
from  Luke,  who  begins  his  narrative  in  these 
words:  "  Now  in  the  15th  year  of  the  reign  of 
Tiberius  Caesar,  Pontius  Pilate  being  the  Gover- 
nor of  Judea  and  Herod  the  Tetrarch  of  Gali- 
lee, the  word  of  God  came  to  John,  the  Son  of 
Zacharias,  in  the  wilderness  " —  who  cried  to  the 
people,  "  Repent  ye,  for  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  at  hand." 

This  strange,  ascetic  preacher  appeared  on 
the  half-desert  banks  of  the  Jordan  proclaim- 
ing the  immediate  coming  of  the  Kingdom  of 
1 


a        PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

God,  warning  the  people  to  repent  and  be  bap- 
tized for  the  remission  of  their  sins.  The  old 
prophets  had  foretold  that  a  time  would  come 
when  the  powers  of  Heaven  would  descend  upon 
the  Earth  and  establish  the  Kingdom  of  God 
right  here ;  his  enemies,  the  wicked,  would  be 
swept  away  to  destruction,  but  his  loyal  sub- 
jects, the  righteous,  would  inherit  the  earth. 

This  time  had  come,  said  John;  the  crisis 
was  close  at  hand.  "  Even  now  the  axe  is  laid 
at  the  root  of  the  trees ;  every  tree  that  bringeth 
not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down  and  cast 
into  the  fire.  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water 
unto  repentance,  but  the  Strong  One  that  fol- 
lows me  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  with  fire,  whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he 
will  thoroughly  cleanse  his  threshing  floor  and 
he  will  gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner,  but, 
the  chaff  he  will  bum  with  unquenchable  fire." 

The  fierce  zeal  of  the  Jewish  people  was 
deeply  stirred  by  his  preaching;  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  they  poured  down  to  the  Jordan; 
in  throngs  to  listen  to  the  appeals  of  the  desert 
preacher,  and  thousands  accepted  his  baptism 
of  repentance. 

The  carpenter  of  Nazareth  heard  the  stories 
of  those  who  came  back  from  the  Jordan,  and 
he,  too,  went  down  to  hear  the  new  prophet, 
being,  says  Luke,  about  thirty  years  old.  Of 
his  life  prior  to  that  day  we  know  nothing  ex- 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS        3 

cept  what  can  be  gleaned  from  the  New 
Testament.  His  father,  Joseph,  was  probably 
dead,  and  his  mother,  Mary,  was  left  with  a 
family  of  five  sons,  of  whom  Jesus  was  the  eld- 
est, and  at  least  two  daughters.  He  had  re- 
ceived such  education  as  fell  to  a  boy  in  a 
village  like  Nazareth.  He  had  read  the  history 
of  his  people  and  was  steeped  in  the  hopes  and 
promises  of  the  grand  old  prophets  whose  lan- 
guage he  often  quotes.  His  teaching  also 
shows  some  acquaintance  with  the  Apocalyptic 
literature  so  freely  floating  about  Palestine  in 
his  day,  picturing  the  sanguine  hopes  of  the 
pious  Jews. 

He  listened  to  the  fiery  appeals  of  John  and 
received  baptism  from  him  in  token  of  his  sym- 
pathy and  his  faith  in  the  coming  of  the  King- 
dom. Then  followed  the  wonderful  spiritual 
experience  so  variously  told  by  different  evangel- 
ists. The  heavens  opened  to  his  vision  and  the 
Spirit  of  God  descended  upon  him.  Mark's 
language  seems  to  imply  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
entered  into  him  at  that  time,  inspiring  and 
controlling  his  thought  and  action,  and  giving 
him  superhuman  power.  As  I  read  it,  this  was 
the  crucial  moment  of  his  life.  As  he  received 
the  baptism  he  felt  the  power  of  God  in  his, 
soul  calling  upon  him  to  devote  his  life  to  the 
service  of  His  Kingdom.  "  And  straightway 
the   Spirit   driveth  him  forth  into   the   wilder- 


4i        PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

ness."  He  wanted  to  be  alone,  to  look  into  the 
depths  of  his  own  soul, —  far  away  from  the 
company  of  men,  to  meditate  on  his  new  hopes 
and  seek  strength  from  God. 

Presently  he  returned  to  Nazareth,  where  the 
call  to  action  soon  reached  him.  John  was  cast 
into  prison  by  Herod,  and  his  mission  came  to 
an  untimely  end.  Then  Jesus  felt  his  own  time 
had  come ;  he  went  down  to  Capernaum  and  be- 
gan to  preach,  saying,  "  The  time  is  fulfilled. 
The  Kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand.  Repent  ye 
and  believe  in  the  good  news." 

He  gathered  around  him  a  little  group  of 
devoted  followers,  probably  men  who  had  been 
disciples  of  John  the  Baptist;  they  were  men 
from  the  humble  walks  of  life,  but,  filled  with 
love  of  their  master  and  inspired  by  constant 
contact  with  him,  they  gave  their  lives  to  his 
ideals,  and  became  after  his  death  the  germ  of 
the  Christian  Church. 

At  Capernaum  "  he  entered  into  the  syna- 
gogue and  taught;  they  were  astonished  at  his 
teachings,  for  he  taught  them  as  one  having 
authority  and  not  as  the  scribes."  This  is  the 
first  note  we  hear  of  his  preaching;  he  taught 
them  as  one  having  authority,  not  like  the 
scribes.  The  scribes  based  their  religion  upon 
established  rules;  they  appealed  to  ancient 
authorities  and  cited  eminent  teachers.  Jesus 
spoke  fresh  from  the  heart,  full  of  the  power  of 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS        5 

earnest  conviction.  It  was  to  him  the  voice  of 
God  in  his  soul  and  needed  no  backing. 

His  own  faith  in  God  was  unbounded,  and 
by  faith  I  mean  not  dogmatic  confession  nor 
belief  only,  but  I  mean  confidence,  simple,  child- 
like trust.  To  him  God  was  as  real,  as  present 
as  the  mountain  on  which  he  stood.  He  lived 
in  His  constant  presence.  He  often  retired  to 
the  solitude  to  pray,  and  there  he  felt  that  God 
spoke  plainly  to  his  heart.  He  felt  that  the 
Gospel  he  preached  had  the  divine  sanction,  was 
the  word  of  God;  hence  he  spoke  as  one  with 
authority,  with  the  authority  of  God.  He  could 
say  with  conviction  that  the  man  who  kept  his 
sayings  had  founded  his  house  upon  the 
Eternal  Rock. 

"  The  time  is  fulfilled.  The  Kingdom  of  God 
is  at  hand.  Repent  and  believe  in  the  good 
news."  The  Kingdom  of  righteousness  and 
peace  and  plenty  we  have  so  long  looked  for 
and  hoped  for  is  at  hand,  close  at  hand.  God 
will  establish  His  reign  right  here  in  Galilee  and 
in  Judea,  but  only  those  who  love  Him  and  obey 
His  laws  can  be  His  subjects,  only  those  who  are 
His  friends  and  are  loyal  to  Him ;  the  unselfish, 
those  who  love  and  serve  their  neighbors  — 
they  will  be  His  subjects  and  will  enter  into 
the  joy  of  the  Kingdom.  The  disloyal  will  be 
cast  out  into  utter  darkness.  Repent  of  your 
sins,  accept  His  love  and  come  in. 


6        PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

At  this  synagogue  service  in  Capernaum 
Jesus  effected  his  first  act  of  healing.  In  those 
days  all  human  ailments  were  popularly  at- 
tributed to  the  demons  who  infested  the  air. 
One  unhappy  lunatic,  stirred  by  his  preaching, 
called  out  in  the  name  of  the  demon  for  mercy. 
But  Jesus  replied,  "  '  Hold  thy  peace  and  come 
out  of  him,'  and  the  unclean  spirit,  tearing  him 
and  crying  with  a  loud  voice,  came  out  of 
him."  Again  the  people  were  amazed,  saying, 
''  What  is  this  ?  A  new  teaching !  With 
authority  he  commandeth  even  the  unclean 
spirits  and  they  obey  him."  "  That  evening 
after  sunset,"  says  Mark,  "  all  the  city  was 
gathered  at  his  door  and  he  healed  many  that 
were  sick  and  cast  out  many  devils." 

During  the  year  or  more  that  he  spent  in 
Galilee  and  the  surrounding  districts  he  healed 
many  sick  and  cured  many  insane  persons, 
which  undoubtedly  swelled  greatly  the  throngs 
that  followed  him,  but  interfered  with  his  move- 
ments and  became  an  obstruction  to  his  teach- 
ing. 

This  Sabbath  Day  at  Capernaum  must  have 
been  a  trying  day  for  Jesus.  The  opening 
proclamation  of  his  message  to  the  people,  the 
discovery  of  his  powers  of  healing,  the  un- 
wonted activities  of  the  day  all  called  for  rest 
and  reflection.  Their  possible  consequences 
stretched  away  forward  into  the  future  where 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS        7 

he  needed  divine  help.  Early  in  the  morning, 
long  before  day,  he  rose  and  went  out  of  the 
town  to  be  alone  and  to  pray  to  God  under  the 
open  sky.  There  the  disciples  found  him. 
They  remonstrated :  "  Everybody  is  looking 
for  you,"  but  he  would  not  go  back  to 
Capernaum.  "  Let  us  go  elsewhere,  into  the 
next  towns,  that  I  may  preach  there  also." 

So  they  went  from  town  to  town,  "  preaching 
in  their  synagogues,"  says  Mark,  "  and  casting 
out  devils,"  till  his  fame  became  so  widespread 
that  he  "  could  no  more  enter  into  a  city,  but 
was  without  in  desert  places." 

After  a  while  they  returned  to  Capernaum, 
where  he  came  in  contact  with  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  and  his  open  conflict  with  them  broke 
out,  which  lasted  to  the  end  of  his  life.  It  be- 
gan thus.  As  he  passed  along  "  by  the  sea 
side "  he  met  Levi,  a  publican,  and  invited 
him  to  become  one  of  his  intimate  followers. 
Levi  arose  and  followed  him  and  then  received 
him  at  his  house,  where  many  "  publicans  and 
sinners  sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his  disciples," 
thus  technically  defiling  them.  When  blamed 
for  this,  he  said,  "  I  came  not  to  call  the  right- 
eous but  sinners."  Then  followed  a  complaint 
that  the  disciples  did  not  observe  the  customary 
fasts  of  the  Jews,  but  Jesus  refused  to  require 
it  of  them.  Then  they  blamed  him  for  heahng 
the  sick  on  the  Sabbath.     Jesus  replied  that  to 


8        PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

do  good  on  the  Sabbath  was  always  lawful. 
But  the  conflict  became  so  sharp  he  left  Caper- 
naum and  withdrew  to  the  shores  of  the  lake. 
His  relation  to  the  religious  leaders  of  the  towns 
had  become  so  strained  it  was  unsafe  for  him  to 
teach  within  their  limits. 

The  Jewish  Church,  though  it  produced 
many  great  men  and  some  broad,  generous 
natures,  had  become  bound  up  in  a  straight- 
jacket  of  legalism.  God  was  a  distant  monarch 
hedged  in  by  the  stem  provisions  of  the  law ;  and 
not  only  the  Mosaic  Law  was  to  be  observed, 
but  the  Oral  Law,  too,  which  had  grown  up 
around  it,  prescribed  a  multitude  of  minute  cere- 
monials and  observances  which  the  Jewish  leaders 
of  that  day  insisted  upon  as  equally  binding 
with  the  Mosaic  Law. 

These  requirements  of  the  Oral  Law  were  sO' 
minute  and  so  numerous  that  only  the  scribes 
and  the  Pharisees  knew  what  they  were.  And 
how  could  the  poor  peasant,  struggling  with 
poverty,  just  able  to  maintain  his  family  and 
keep  the  wolf  from  the  door, —  how  could  he  ob- 
serve all  these  lustrations  and  ceremonials?  He 
had  no  time  for  these  petty  observances:  it  was 
as  much  as  he  could  do  to  provide  bread  for  his 
family  and  keep  his  head  above  water ;  and  so  he 
fell  under  the  ban  of  the  Pharisee  for  his  neg- 
lect of  the  law.  He  was  a  "  sinner,"  and,  aS 
such,    an    outcast    from   the    Church,    an    alien 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS         9 

from  God,  shut  out  from  all  the  promises  of 
the  Kingdom. 

To  these  poor  creatures  Jesus  came  with  a 
new  gospel,  bright  with  hope  and  encourage- 
ment. The  pure  heart  was  worth  more  than  ab- 
lution, the  loving  service  of  their  neighbors 
availed  more  than  the  Temple  sacrifices.  His 
great  heart  overflowed  with  compassion  for 
these  "  lost  sheep  of  Israel."  Despised,  re- 
jected by  the  men  who  should  have  been  their 
religious  guides,  they  flocked  to  him  to  hear 
his  cheering,  comforting  promises :  "  Come 
unto  me  ye  who  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  and  I 
will  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you 
and  learn  of  me,  for  my  yoke  is  easy  and  my 
burden  is  light."  And  so  it  was,  indeed,  as 
compared  with  the  load  imposed  upon  them  by 
the  Pharisees. 

Jesus  was  the  religious  champion  of  the 
common  people.  They  came  to  hear  him  in 
throngs,  in  crowds,  so  that  one  day  his  disciples 
"  had  no  leisure  so  much  as  to  eat " ;  another 
day  he  had  to  provide  a  small  boat  to  save  him 
from  the  crush ;  "  he  could  no  more  enter  into 
any  city,"  says  Mark,  "  but  was  without  in 
solitary  places,"  because  of  the  crowds  that 
followed  him ;  again  and  again  he  crossed  the 
lake  to  avoid  the  press,  or  to  get  a  chance  for 
rest,  so  eager  were  the  people  to  drink  in  the 
new  doctrine.     Here  was  a  prophet  of  their  own 


10      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

kind,  in  full  sympathy  with  them,  whose  life 
had  been  that  of  a  plain  carpenter,  with  no  gulf 
separating  him  from  the  poor. 

He  taught  them  in  pictures  drawn  from  their 
own  experience,  the  poor  woman  sweeping  the 
cabin  floor  to  find  the  lost  coin,  the  fisherman 
sorting  his  catch  on  the  beach  of  the  lake,  the 
patch  on  the  old  garment,  the  old  and  the  new 
wine-skins,  the  children  playing  in  the  market- 
place, the-  laborers  in  the  vineyard,  the  sower 
going  forth  to  sow,  the  patient  farmer  waiting 
for  the  sun  and  rain  to  bring  him  a  crop,  the 
colors  of  the  lily,  the  glowing  hues  of  sunset — 
how  freshly  all  these  appealed  to  their  daily  ex- 
perience. He  shared  their  every  day  homely 
life.  Women  pressed  through  the  crowd  hold- 
ing out  their  babies  to  receive  his  blessing,  and 
he  took  them  in  his  arms  and  blessed  them,  "  for 
of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."  Even  the 
fallen  woman,  seeing  the  prospect  of  a  new  life 
opened  to  her  through  the  pitying  love  of  God, 
came  and  fell  at  his  feet  and  heard  his  benedic- 
tion :  "  Daughter,  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee, 
go  in  peace." 

He  walked  from  village  to  village  throughout 
Galilee,  living  upon  the  bounty  of  friends,  ac- 
companied by  the  little  group  of  intimate  dis- 
ciples who  had  left  all  and  followed  him.  As 
the  field  widened  he  needed  helpers  and  was 
slowly  training  them  to   aid  him  in  his  work, 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      11 

moulding  them  to  the  likeness  of  his  own 
spirit.  They  were  just  common,  ordinary  men, 
and  they  tried  him  greatly  with  their  petty 
ambitions  and  selfishness ;  but  he  was  patient 
with  them,  and  after  a  while  he  felt  confidence 
enough  in  them  to  send  them  out  as  his  mes- 
sengers, two  and  two,  calling  men  to  repent. 
On  their  return,  Mark  simply  records  that 
"  they  cast  out  many  devils  and  healed  many 
that  were  sick." 

The  mission  of  Jesus  opened  bright  and 
cheering.  The  people  were  deeply  impressed; 
he  healed  the  sick,  he  cheered  and  comforted  the 
sorrowing;  the  multitude  heard  eagerly  his 
gospel  of  the  love  of  God  and  followed  him  in 
crowds ;  but  the  religious  leaders,  the  synagogue 
authorities,  were  sullen  and  indifferent.  In  his 
youthful  enthusiasm  he  undoubtedly  felt  that 
they  of  all  men  would  help  him  bring  the  sinners 
to  a  knowledge  of  God.  But  their  idea  of  re- 
ligious duty  was  very  far  from  his ;  the  worship 
of  the  form  had  obscured  the  spirit.  When  he 
healed  the  sick  on  the  Sabbath  they  blamed  him 
for  breaking  the  Sabbath  rest.  He,  on  the  con- 
trary, would  work  on  the  Sabbath  if  he  could 
help  his  suffering  neighbor.  They  were  con- 
scious that  his  spiritual  gospel  undermined  their 
ceremonial  legalism:  the  two  could  not  live  to- 
gether in  peace. 

When   Jesus   went   from   house   to   house   of 


12      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

the  poor  people,  giving  what  comfort  he  could 
to  their  humble  occupants,  the  synagogue 
authorities  sneered  at  him  for  keeping  company 
with  outcasts ;  he  "  eateth  and  drinketh  with 
publicans  and  sinners."  Jesus  replied,  "  They 
that  are  whole  have  no  need  of  a  physician  but 
they  that  are  sick.  I  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous  but  sinners  to  repentance."  But  the 
breach  between  them  slowly  widened.  Even  his 
own  family  turned  against  him.  One  day 
quite  early  in  his  work  he  was  teaching  in  a 
house,  and  there  gathered  around  him  a  great 
multitude,  "  so  that  they  could  not  so  much  as 
eat,  and  when  his  relatives  heard  it,  they  went 
out  to  lay  hold  of  him,  for  they  said,  he  is  be- 
side himself."  They  had  so  little  sympathy  with 
his  work,  they  thought  he  must  be  out  of  his 
mind  and  tried  to  arrest  him  and  put  an  end 
forcibly  to  his  teaching.  We  have  no  record 
of  what  he  said  or  did  on  this  occasion,  but  its 
effect  upon  him  is  brought  out  clearly  when 
shortly  after  he  was  again  teaching  in  a  house 
with  a  multitude  sitting  about  him,  "  and  there 
came  his  mother  and  his  brothers,  and  standing 
outside  they  sent  unto  him,  calling  him.  And 
the  people  round  him  told  him,  '  Thy  mother 
and  thy  brothers  outside  are  seeking  thee,'  and 
he  answereth  them,  '  Who  is  my  mother  and  my 
brothers  ?  '  and  looking  round  on  them  which 
sat    round    about    him,   he    saith,    '  Behold    my 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      13 

mother  and  my  brethren.  For  whosoever  shall 
do  the  will  of  God,  the  same  is  my  brother  and 
sister  and  mother.'  " 

From  now  on  he  will  hold  his  spiritual  kin- 
dred as  dearer  to  him  than  his  own  family. 
This  saying  seems  harsh  at  first  sight,  but  it 
is  not  so  when  we  remember  that  he  had  just  es- 
caped detention  at  their  hands,  and  knew  they 
would  spare  no  efforts  to  put  an  end  to  his 
preaching  if  he  placed  himself  in  their  power. 
And  when  he  sent  out  his  disciples  to  preach,  he 
said,  "  Do  not  think  I  have  come  to  bring  peace 

—  not  peace  but  the  sword  —  a  man's  enemies 
will  be  they  of  his  household."  Perhaps  these 
scenes  were  in  his  mind  when  a  woman  cried  to 
him  as  he  was  teaching,  "  Blessed  is  the  womb 
that  bare  thee  and  the  breasts  which  thou  didst 
suck."  But  he  said,  "  Yea,  rather,  blessed  are 
they  that  hear  the  word  of  God  and  keep  it." 

A  little  later  he  comes  in  the  course  of  his 
teaching  to  Nazareth,  his  home-town,  and 
preached  in  the  synagogue.  The  people  were 
surprised  at  his  power.  "  What  is  the  wisdom 
that  is  given  to  this  man?  Is  not  this  the 
carpenter,  the  son  of  Mary,  and  brother  of 
James  and  Joses  and  Judas  and  Simon  .f*  And 
are  not  his  sisters  here  with  us?  "  And  just  be- 
cause they  had  known  him  all  their  life  they  re- 
jected  him.     Jesus  wondered  at  their  unbelief, 

—  and  said,  "  A  prophet  is  not  without  honor 


14      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

save  in  his  own  country  and  among  his  own  kin 
and  in  his  own  house." 

Disowned  by  his  own  blood  and  rejected  by 
his  childhood  friends,  he  could  turn  with  fresh 
joy  and  satisfaction  to  the  eager  love  and 
loyalty  of  Peter  and  his  comrades.  When  we 
think  of  this  chilling  estrangement  from  all  that 
had  been  dear  to  him  in  his  childhood,  we  feel  a 
new  pathos  when  we  read  in  Luke  that  not  long 
after  this,  when  an  eager  convert  exclaimed,  "  I 
will  follow  you  wherever  you  go,"  Jesus  re- 
plied, "  Foxes  have  holes  and  birds  of  the  air 
have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where 
to  lay  his  head."     He,  too,  was  an  outcast. 

In  the  face  of  this  opposition  by  the  religious 
leaders,  should  he  abandon  the  great  message  to 
which  he  had  devoted  his  life?  No,  his 
disciples  were  true  and  the  common  people  still 
clung  to  him ;  he  must  preach  the  coming  of  the 
Kingdom,  show  them  clearly  the  crisis  that  was 
impending.  The  great  day  was  near  at  hand. 
He  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Ye  will  not  have  gone 
over  the  cities  of  Israel  till  the  Son  of  Man  be 
come  " :  God  would  establish  his  reign  on  earth 
right  here  in  Israel.  Who  then  would  be  his 
subjects,  his  citizens?  The  Pharisees?  No. 
"  Except  your  righteousness  exceeds  the  right- 
eousness of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  you  can- 
not enter  the  Kingdom."  Who,  thes,  the  rich? 
the  mighty?  the  learned?  the  rulers?     No!  the 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      15 

gentle  shall  inherit  the  earth,  the  peacemakers 
shall  be  called  the  sons  of  God,  the  pure  in  heart 
shall  see  God.  Such  were  the  tests  of  citizen- 
ship. 

A  new  order  of  society  was  coming  in,  based 
not  upon  force,  but  upon  love.  The  world  was 
to  be  reorganized.  It  was  to  become  a  harmoni- 
ous family.  God  was  our  Father  in  Heaven, 
and  all  men  were  His  sons,  were  brothers  in  the 
family.  The  old  conception  that  God  was  a 
jealous  monarch,  hedged  in  with  ceremonials, 
jealous  of  His  law,  and  to  be  approached  by 
the  unhappy  sinner  only  through  conciliatory 
sacrifices,  was  all  wrong.  Jesus  said,  "  God  is 
your  Father,  and  you  are  His  children,  made 
in  His  image.  He  longs  for  you  to  repent  and 
believe  the  Good  News  —  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  your  home  where  you  belong  and  the 
Good  Father  is  ready  to  meet  the  repentant  son 
and  welcome  him  home.  There  is  more  joy  in 
heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth  than  over 
ninety  and  nine  righteous  persons  who  need 
no  repentance."  Ceremonial  and  sacrifice  are 
not  needed,  but  repentance  is.  You  must  re- 
pent and  forsake  your  evil  ways.  Only  those 
who  are  loyal  to  God  can  be  citizens  in  the  New 
Kingdom.  Set  your  hearts  right  and  never 
mind  the  rest.  There  are  but  two  laws.  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,  and  above 
all.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 


16      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

thy  heart;  these  two  commandments  underlie 
the  whole  code  and  our  love  for  God  is  proved 
by  the  service  we  render  our  neighbor.  Love 
and  not  force  will  be  the  motive  power  in  the 
new  Kingdom. 

Earthly  position  will  avail  nothing.  Hu- 
mility is  better  than  ambition.  "  Except  ye 
become  as  little  children  ye  cannot  enter  the 
Kingdom."  "  Many  that  are  first  here  will  be 
last  there."  Money,  raiment,  earthly  goods  are 
of  no  account.  Throw  them  overboard  if  they 
impede  your  way.  The  j  oy  and  blessings  of  the 
Kingdom  will  recompense  you  a  hundred  fold 
for  all  earthly  gifts  you  lose.  "  Jettison  the 
cargo  to  save  the  ship."  Such  a  doctrine  as 
this,  of  the  superiority  of  the  spiritual  over  the 
external,  the  efficacy  of  a  clean  heart  over  out- 
ward purifications,  undermined  not  only  the  tra- 
dition but  the  Mosaic  Law  itself,  which 
abounded  in  external  causes  of  defilement. 

The  report  of  this  dangerous  teaching  reached 
Jerusalem,  and  scribes  came  down  to  Galilee 
to  listen  to  it.  They  asked  him,  "  Why  walk 
not  thy  disciples  according  to  the  tradition  of 
the  Elders,  but  eat  their  bread  with  unwashed 
hands  ?  "  Jesus  replied,  "  You  hyprocrites,  you 
prefer  the  traditions  of  men  to  the  command- 
ments of  God.  You  relieve  a  man  from  his 
duty  to  support  his  father  and  mother,  if  he  will 
give   his    means    to    the    Temple    instead,    thus 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      IT 

making  void  the  word  of  God  by  your  tradi- 
tions ;  and  many  such  like  things  ye  do."  Then 
returning  to  their  question  he  answered  with 
pecuhar  solemnity :  "  Hear  ye,  all  of  you  and 
understand :  Not  that  which  goeth  into  the  mouth 
defileth  the  man,  but  that  which  proceedeth  out 
of  the  mouth,  this  defileth  the  man."  For,  as  he 
afterwards  explained  to  his  disciples,  "  Out  of 
the  heart  come  forth  evil  thoughts,  covetings, 
wickedness,  deceit,  these  evil  things  come  from 
within  and  defile  the  man." 

In  these  sayings,  while  Jesus  did  not  actually 
abjure  the  Mosaic  Law,  he  came  very  near  it, 
and  proclaimed  a  principle  which  put  an  end  to 
most  of  the  ceremonial  defilements.  The 
scribes  saw  this  and  were  shocked.  To  them  the 
law  was  the  Sacred  Covenant,  established  more 
than  a  thousand  years  since.  It  was  the  law  of 
God,  sanctioned  by  long  years,  made  holy  by  the 
reverence  of  their  fathers ;  and  this  new  prophet 
was  undermining  the  whole  venerable  structure. 
Jesus  had  undertaken  to  modify  the  rigidity  of 
the  Sabbath  requirements,  he  had  done  away 
with  the  prescribed  fastings,  and  now  he  struck 
at  the  root  of  all  distinctions  in  food.  What 
would  he  do  next?  And  he  a  Jew.^  It  must 
be  that  an  evil  spirit  possessed  him.  And  the 
scribes  which  came  down  from  Jerusalem  said, 
"  He  hath  Beelzebub,  and  by  the  prince  of  devils 
casteth   he    out    devils."     This    charge    coming 


18      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

from  such  a  source  must  have  greatly  weak- 
ened his  hold  upon  the  people,  who  held  the 
church  authorities  in  great  reverence. 

Jesus  saw  that  the  opposition  had  become 
too  strong  for  him  and  he  felt  obliged  to  with- 
draw, at  least  for  the  time,  from  Galilee  to  the 
borders  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  a  pagan  district 
entirely  outside  of  Israel.  How  long  he  re- 
mained there  we  do  not  know.  On  his  return 
he  passed  around  Galilee,  coming  down  the  east 
side  of  the  lake,  still  in  foreign  territory. 

After  a  while  the  storm  seemed  to  have  blown 
over  and  he  again  crossed  the  lake  to  Galilee, 
though  not  to  Capernaum.  But  the  Pharisees 
were  on  the  alert  and  immediately  sought  him 
out  and  renewed  the  attack,  demanding  a  sign 
from  heaven  attesting  to  the  authority  by  which 
he  proclaimed  these  new  doctrines.  Jesus 
"  sighed  deeply  in  his  spirit,"  says  Mark. 
"  Why  does  this  generation  seek  a  sign? " 
"  There  shall  no  sign  be  given  to  this  gener- 
ation." Recognizing  the  uselessness  of  further 
attempts  to  preach  in  Galilee,  he  withdrew 
finally  from  that  region,  and  so  ended  "  The 
Galilean  Idyll." 

And  what  had  he  accomplished?  His  own 
family  thought  he  was  beside  himself.  The 
church  authorities  said  he  was  an  agent  of  Beel- 
zebub ;  rejected  by  all  that  had  been  dear  to  him 
before  he  entered  upon  his  mission,  hunted  from 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      19 

place  to  place,  he  was  now  a  fugitive  in  a  foreign 
land.  We  can  imagine  the  disappointment  with 
which  he  looked  back  on  the  cities  where  he  had 
spent  so  much  of  his  labor.  "  Woe  unto  thee, 
Chorazin,  woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida,  for  if  the 
mighty  works  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon 
which  were  done  in  you,  they  would  have  re- 
pented long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  and 
thou,  Capernaum,  thou  shalt  go  down  to  Hades, 
for  if  the  mighty  works  had  been  done  in  Sodom 
which  were  done  in  thee,  it  would  have  remained 
until  this  day.  But  I  say  unto  you  that  it  shall 
be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  in  the 
day  of  judgment  than  for  thee."  His  Galilean 
work  was  over,  and  a  new  field  of  action  and  new 
scenes  will  occupy  our  attention  for  the  rest  of 
the  story. 

THE    JERUSALEM    TRAGEDY 

Jesus  retired  to  the  mountain  region  at  the 
sources  of  the  Jordan ;  there  in  the  quiet  seclu- 
sion of  the  hills,  out  of  reach  of  Herod  and  the 
Pharisees,  free  from  the  thronging  multitudes 
he  could  meditate  on  the  situation.  Should  he 
go  back  to  Galilee,  in  the  face  of  the  hostility 
of  the  Pharisees  and  the  power  of  Herod?  If 
he  did,  undoubtedly  the  fate  of  John  the  Baptist 
awaited  him.  While  thus  debating  in  his  mind, 
a  new  situation  arose.  As  his  work  progressed 
the  thought  must  have  arisen  in  his  mind,  was  he 


20      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

only  a  fore-runner  like  John,  or  was  he  the 
Divine  Leader  himself,  who  should  estabhsh  the 
Kingdom.  His  gospel  was  not  the  leadership 
that  John  expected  when  from  his  prison  he  sent 
to  Jesus  the  inquiry,  "  Art  Thou  He  that  should 
come,  or  must  we  look  for  another?  "  John 
looked  for  an  avenging  angel  who  should  sweep 
the  wdcked  into  hell.  Jesus  was  far  enough  from 
that,  and  in  reply  simply  pointed  to  his  works 
of  charity,  making  no  direct  claim  to  be  the 
Messiah.  So  when  Herod  heard  of  the  crowds 
that  followed  Jesus,  he  saw  no  sign  of  the 
Christ  about  him,  but,  said  he,  "  It  is  John  the 
Baptist,  whom  I  beheaded,  risen  from  the  dead." 
When  the  Pharisees  asked  him  for  a  sign 
from  heaven,  that  is,  some  proof  of  divine 
authority,  he  only  said,  "  There  shall  no  sign 
be  given  them."  Even  his  disciples,  when  he 
asked  them  at  Cesarea  Philippi,  "  Who  do  men 
say  I  am,"  could  only  reply,  "  Some  say  John 
the  Baptist,  others  Elijah,  others  again  one  of 
the  prophets."  Up  to  this  time  nobody  seems 
to  have  regarded  him  as  the  Christ  unless  we 
accept  the  testimony  of  the  Demons.  In  no  re- 
spect did  he  present  the  popular  idea  of  a  com- 
ing leader.  The  common  people  looked  for  a 
Judas  Maccabeus  who  should  hammer  the 
Romans,  not  for  a  Prince  of  Peace.  The 
Pharisees  hoped  for  an  Ezra  who  should  rein- 
force the  law,  not  a  reformer.     Jesus  knew  well 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      21 

enough  that  he  did  not  fill  out  their  conceptions 
of  a  Messiah.  His  Kingdom  of  God  was  a  very 
different  one  from  theirs:  but  he  knew  he  was 
right.  He  knew  his  soul  was  in  touch  with  God. 
He  knew  his  gospel  w^as  the  only  foundation  on 
which  the  Kingdom  could  be  built,  the  laws  he 
laid  down  were  the  Divine  Code. 

Then  he  turned  to  his  disciples  with  the 
question,  "  And  whom  say  ye  that  I  am  ?  "  And 
the  impetuous  Peter,  with  a  heart  overflowing 
with  loyalty  to  his  master,  burst  out,  "  Thou 
art  the  Christ."  Jesus  replied,  "  Blessed  art 
thou,  Simon  Bar  Jonah,  for  flesh  and  blood 
hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father 
who  is  in  Heaven."  If  this  reply,  given  only 
in  Matthew,  is  historical,  it  means  that  Peter 
had  not  gained  this  conviction  from  any  talk 
with  his  fellows,  but  the  truth  then  flashed  upon 
him  for  the  first  time  that  his  Master  was  the 
long-hoped-for  Christ.  It  is  in  full  keeping 
with  this  view  that  Jesus  then  "  charged  them 
that  they  should  tell  no  man  of  him."  He 
would  postpone  as  long  as  he  could  the  popular 
tumult  and  the  possible  political  consequences 
which  would  follow  the  proclamation  of  his 
Messiahship. 

And  now  assured  of  the  confidence  and  devo- 
tion of  his  disciples,  the  way  was  clear.  He 
would  go  up  to  Jerusalem  at  the  Passover  Festi- 
val, the  great  national  gathering,  and  preach 


^2      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

the  coming  Kingdom.  ''  He  steadfastly  set  his 
face  to  go  to  Jerusalem,"  says  Luke, —  stead- 
fastly, resolutely.  It  needed  courage  and  reso- 
lution. He  saw  clearly  the  risk.  He  would 
meet  there  the  same  body  of  Pharisees  who  had 
blocked  his  way  in  Galilee,  only  vastly  stronger 
and  more  dangerous.  In  Jerusalem  were  their 
schools  and  the  heart  of  their  fraternity.  Back 
of  them  lay  the  Sadducees,  the  temple  hierarchy, 
rich,  strong,  proud  of  their  position,  jealous 
of  the  slightest  attack  on  their  wealth  and  their 
privileges.  He  was  sure  to  come  into  collision 
with  them,  too, —  and  over  them  all  was  the 
dreaded  Roman  power,  quick  to  scent  any  popu- 
lar movement,  prompt  to  crush  any  attack  on 
their  authority,  and  anxious  withal  to  conciliate 
the  Jewish  leaders. 

It  was  only  fair  to  warn  his  faithful  followers 
of  their  peril,  and  he  frankly  told  them  that  he 
expected  to  meet  the  open  hostility  of  the  rulers  ; 
but  there  was  only  one  thing  for  him  to  do, — 
he  must  proclaim  the  Kingdom,  which  would 
arouse  the  enmity  of  the  authorities  as  it  had 
done  in  Galilee.  Being  stronger  in  Jerusalem 
they  would  seize  him  and  put  him  to  death. 
The  eager  Peter  protested  against  this  sombre 
view,  but  Jesus  turned  on  him  with  these  words : 
"  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,  for  thou  mindest 
not  the  things  of  God  but  the  things  of  man." 
I  confess  it  always  seemed  to  me  hard  that  the 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      23 

affectionate  protest  of  Peter,  an  outbreak  of 
his  implicit  faith  in  his  master,  should  meet  with 
this  rebuff,  but  Jesus'  stem  determination  al- 
lowed no  veil  of  sentiment  to  come  between  him 
and  the  cold  facts  of  his  situation.  Warned 
by  Peter's  mistake  he  began  to  prepare  them  for 
the  worst.  His  teachings  assume  a  sombre, 
ascetic  cast ;  they  were  marching  to  the  King- 
dom of  God,  but  it  was  through  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death. 

The  forlorn  hope  that  storms  the  enemy's  for- 
tress must  be  purged  of  all  doubters, —  must  cast 
aside  all  impediments  and  enter  the  fight  single- 
minded,  with  but  one  object.  No  man  need  fol- 
low him  unless  he  was  prepared  to  stake  all, 
yea,  life  itself,  on  the  issue.  Here  is  his  call 
for  volunteers :  "  If  any  man  would  come  after 
me  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  me,  for  whosoever  would  save  his  life 
shall  lose  it,  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life 
for  my  sake  and  the  gospel's  shall  save  it.  For 
what  doth  it  profit  a  man  to  gain  the  whole  world 
and  forfeit  his  life,  or  what  should  a  man  give 
in  exchange  for  his  life.  .  .  .  Whosoever 
is  ashamed  of  me  now  .  .  .  the  son  of 
man  will  be  ashamed  of  him  when  he  comes  with 
the  glory  of  his  Father  and  the  holy  angels. 
And  I  tell  you  there  are  men  standing  before 
me  who  shall  not  taste  of  death  till  they  see  the 
Kingdom   of   God   come  with  power."     Those 


24      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

who  fell  in  the  struggle  would  win  Eternal  Life 
in  the  coming  Kingdom. 

Descending  from  the  mountains  he  passed 
through  Galilee,  but  privately,  for  he  wanted 
nothing  to  interfere  with  his  plans.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  he  said  in  the  same  strain,  "If 
thy  hand  or  thy  foot  cause  thee  to  stumble,  cut 
it  off;  if  thine  eye  cause  thee  to  stumble,  pluck 
it  out,  for  it  is  better  to  enter  into  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  maimed,  than  having  two  eyes  to  be 
cast  into  hell,  into  the  unquenchable  fire;  for 
every  one  shall  be  salted  with  fire." 

From  Galilee  he  pursued  his  way  down  the 
east    side    of   the    Jordan,    avoiding   the    more 
travelled  routes.     On  this  j  ourney  the  rich  young 
man  met  him  and  asked  him  what  he  must  do  to 
inherit  eternal  life.     He  had  lived  correctly  and 
kept    the    commandments,    and    Jesus,    looking 
upon  him,  loved  him  and  said,  "  One  thing  thou 
lackest :  go  sell  whatsoever  thou  hast  and  give  to 
the  poor  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven, 
and  come,  follow  me ;  "  but  his  countenance  fell 
"  and  he  went  away  sorrowful,  for  he  had  great 
possessions."     And  Jesus  said,  "  It  is  easier  for 
a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than 
for  a  rich  man  to  enter  the  Kingdom  of  God." 
The  soldier  of  the  forlorn  hope  must  be  in  the 
lightest  marching  order, —  he  can  carry  no  bag- 
gage.    Nay,  even  the  sacred  ties  of  family  life 
must  give  way  in  a  stress  like  this.     In  the  14th 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      ^5 

chapter  of  Luke  we  find  the  following  strange 
passage,  which  belongs  to  this  period :  "  If 
any  man  cometh  unto  me  and  hateth  not  his  own 
father  and  mother  and  wife  and  children  and 
brothers  and  sisters,  yea,  his  own  life  also,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple.  Whosoever  doth  not 
bear  his  own  cross  and  come  after  me  cannot  be 
my  disciple."  Can  this  be  the  gentle  Galilean 
prophet  who  said,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  who 
are  heavy  laden  and  I  will  give  you  rest?  " 
who  made  love  the  motive  power  of  his  King- 
dom, who  insisted  on  the  sanctity  of  marriage, 
who  blessed  little  children  and  said,  "  Of  such 
is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ?  " 

Yes,  but  the  conditions  are  reversed.  Then 
all  was  peace,  now  it  is  war ;  and  on  the  road  to 
battle  all  hindrances  must  be  cast  aside,  riches, 
ambition,  even  the  holy  family  ties,  lest  they 
tempt  the  soldier  to  swerve  from  his  duty.  The 
self-sacrifice  that  faces  death  endures  no  hin- 
drances. His  disciples  could  not  understand 
this  change  in  the  tone  of  his  teaching.  "  And 
they  were  in  the  way  going  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem "  says  Mark,  "  and  Jesus  was  going  before 
them ;  and  they  were  amazed,  and  they  that  fol- 
lowed were  afraid."  And  yet  so  little  compre- 
hension had  they  of  the  truth  of  their  situa- 
tion that  on  this  very  journey  they  disputed 
amongst    themselves    which    was    the    greatest 


^6      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

among  them,  and  who  had  the  right  to  sit  next 
the  Master  in  the  new  Kingdom. 

Thej  passed  through  Jericho  and  began  to 
meet  the  crowds  of  GaHlean  pilgrims  on  their 
way  to  the  Passover  Festival.  He  was  known 
to  most  of  them  as  the  Galilean  prophet,  and 
many  must  have  met  him  personally.  The  word 
was  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  "  He  is  the 
Messiah :  He  is  the  Son  of  David !  "  And  by 
the  time  they  reached  the  suburbs  of  Jerusalem 
the  multitude  was  worked  up  to  a  frenzy  of  en- 
thusiasm, strewing  their  cloaks  in  the  road  and 
branches  of  trees,  singing  national  hymns  and 
shouting,  "  God  save  the  Son  of  David. 
Blessed  is  he  who  cometh  in  the  name  of  Jeho- 
vah! God  save  him  from  on  high."  And  in 
this  way  they  entered  the  city.  It  was  the  high 
tide  of  his  popularity  with  the  people. 

He  visited  the  Temple  Courts  and  retired  to 
Bethany  at  night  with  his  disciples.  The  next 
day  when  he  again  entered  the  Courts  he  was 
shocked  to  find  them  looking  more  like  a  market 
than  a  place  of  worship,  being  filled  with  huck- 
sters selling  all  kinds  of  objects  required  for 
sacrifice.  Indignant  at  the  profanation  and 
undoubtedly  supported  by  his  Galilean  friends, 
he  drove  out  the  traders,  crying,  "  You  have 
turned  the  house  of  prayer  into  a  den  of  rob- 
bers."    This   act   of  purification  was   fatal  to 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      2T 

him,  for  it  made  the  powerful  Temple  hierarchy 
his  bitter  enemies.  He  had  insulted  them  and 
struck  at  one  of  their  main  sources  of  profit. 
So  far  they  had  been  indifferent  to  him,  and 
do  not  appear  in  the  story.  They  hated  the 
Pharisees,  and  up  to  this  time  had  taken  no  part 
in  his  contests  with  them;  but  from  now  on  we 
find  the  "  chief  priests  "  steadily  working  for 
his  downfall. 

The  Pharisees  hated  him  worse  than  ever,  for 
he  attacked  them  with  fierce  denunciation  on 
account  of  their  avarice,  oppression  and 
hypocrisy.  The  Jewish  rulers,  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees,  shook  hands  over  their  old  differ- 
ences in  this  pursuit  of  a  common  enemy.  They 
tried  to  entrap  him  into  a  denial  of  the  Mosaic 
Law ;  they  tried  to  embroil  him  with  the  Roman 
Power;  but  all  in  vain.  Jesus  was  a  Jew.  He 
loved  his  country  and  never  abjured  the  law  of 
Moses,  unconscious  apparently  that  the  princi- 
ples of  his  Gospel,  deep  and  broad  as  human 
nature  itself,  would  inevitably  undermine  the 
limitations  of  Mosaism,  as  became  evident  a 
generation  later  under  his  great  follower,  Paul. 

It  soon  became  clear  that  his  Jerusalem  mis- 
sion was  a  failure.  The  Jewish  authorities  ut- 
terly rejected  his  claims  and  were  trying  to  de- 
stroy him.  His  Galilean  following  disappears 
from  the  story  and  seems  to  have  melted  away, 
except  his  immediate  disciples  and  a  few  women. 


^8      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

His  enemies  continued  to  conspire  and  intrigue 
against  him,  but  he  frustrated  their  schemes  by 
retiring  from  the  city  at  night.  Being  afraid 
to  arrest  him  openly  by  day,  they  had  recourse 
to  treachery.  They  bribed  one  of  his  own 
disciples  to  betray  him  into  their  hands  at  a 
time  and  place  where  rescue  would  be  impos- 
sible. 

And  when  he  took  his  place  at  the  Passover 
.table  with  his  disciples  on  that  last  night  he 
knew  it  was  all  over,  that  the  end  was  near  at 
hand.  It  was  a  sad  meal,  for  his  mind  was 
full  of  the  impending  calamity.  And  yet,  if 
we  believe  Luke,  in  the  midst  of  this  sad  fore- 
boding the  disciples  were  disputing  which  of 
them  was  the  greatest.  Jesus  made  this  incident 
the  text  for  a  lesson  in  humility,  and  then  turn- 
ing to  Peter  he  said,  "  Simon,  Simon,  behold 
Satan  asked  to  have  you  (meaning  all  his  dis- 
ciples), that  he  might  sift  you  as  wheat,  but 
I  made  application  for  thee  that  thy  faith  fail 
not,  and  do  thou,  when  once  thou  hast  returned, 
strengthen  thy  brethren."  Jesus  seemed  to  an- 
ticipate that  they  would  all  desert  him,  but  he 
had  faith  that  under  Peter's  leadership,  "  when 
once  he  had  returned  "  to  his  old  faith,  the  dis- 
ciples would  again  be  drawn  together,  and  the 
Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  carried  on  without  the 
Master,  and  Peter  afterwards  justified  his  con- 
fidence. 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      29 

Then  followed  the  agony  of  the  garden. 
Jesus,  knowing  his  enemies  were  close  at  hand 
and  would  do  their  worst,  tried  to  calm  his 
troubled  soul  in  prayer  to  his  Father  in  Heaven. 
The  disciples,  apparently  without  any  realiza- 
tion of  the  tragedy  at  hand,  calmly  lie  down 
and  sleep.  To  me  their  conduct  all  through 
this  last  day  is  a  paradox. 

Hark!  the  tramp  of  feet  in  the  still  night! 
"  And  straightway  cometh  Judas  with  a  multi- 
tude with  swords  and  staves,  from  the  chief 
priests  and  the  scribes  and  the  elders  " —  not  a 
band  of  Roman  soldiers,  as  John  has  it,  for  he 
was  arrested  by  the  Jewish  authorities  — "  And 
they  laid  hands  on  him  and  took  him."  The 
officers  led  him  to  the  High  Priest's  house, 
where  they  kept  him  till  morning.  Peter  fol- 
lowed him  afar  off,  but  only  to  deny  him  when 
charged  with  being  his  friend.  While  Jesus 
was  kept  in  arrest,  his  guards  were  allowed  to 
insult  him  and  beat  him.  When  morning  came  a 
hasty  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrin  was  called  and 
he  was  taken  before  it  and  questioned,  but  he  re- 
fused to  make  any  answer  till  the  High  Priest 
asked  him  if  he  were  the  Christ,  when  Jesus  re- 
plied, "  I  am,  and  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  power  and  coming 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven."  For  this  they  de- 
clared him  guilty  of  blasphemy  and  condemned 
him  to  be  worthy  of  death.     Then  they  delivered 


30      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

him  up  to  Pilate,  demanding  his  death,  for  only 
the  Roman  could  inflict  capital  punishment. 
Then  Pilate  questioned  him,  but  he  maintained 
his  silence  till  the  Governor  asked  him,  "  Art 
thou  the  King  of  the  Jews  ?  ",  when  Jesus  re- 
plied that  he  was.  Still  Pilate  saw  no  danger 
in  him  and  would  have  released  him  as  a  harmless 
enthusiast,  but  his  vindictive  enemies  opposed 
his  release  vigorously,  crying  out,  "  Crucify 
him,  crucify  him ! "  and  Pilate,  to  pacify  them, 
gave  his  consent.  Jesus  was  whipped  and 
handed  over  to  the  Roman  soldiers  for  their 
amusement,  who  mocked,  insulted  and  tormented 
him,  until  he  was  led  away  to  his  cruel  death. 
Ordinarily  the  criminal  bore  his  own  cross  to 
the  place  of  punishment,  but  Jesus  was  too  ex- 
hausted, and  a  stranger  was  impressed  to  carry 
it  for  him. 

I  need  not  harrow  up  your  sympathies  by 
any  further  details.  He  was  crucified  at  nine 
in  the  morning  and  lingered  in  agony  for  six 
hours,  when  he  broke  his  silence  with  a  loud 
cry,  "  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me  ? "  and  yielded  up  his  spirit.  His 
body  was  tenderly  cared  for  by  a  friendly  hand, 
and  the  mission  of  Jesus  seemed  to  have  come  to 
an  end. 

What  do  you  suppose  were  his  thoughts  as 
he   walked   in    that   mournful   procession    from 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      31 

Pilate's  judgment-seat  to  Calvary?  Perhaps 
his  mind  reverted  to  the  beginning  of  his  work 
for  the  Kingdom.  The  cheerful  confidence  of 
his  first  journey  from  Nazareth  to  Capernaum, 
the  hope  and  assurance  with  which  he  declared 
his  gospel,  the  joy  with  which  his  message  was 
received  by  the  multitudes,  and  the  gathering 
and  training  of  his  devoted  band  of  followers  ;  at 
first  all  seemed  bright  and  encouraging, —  then 
came  the  gradual  overshadowing  of  his  path, 
the  hostility  of  the  leaders  of  the  church,  his 
own  church,  from  which  he  had  hoped  for  sup- 
port,—  the  falling  away  of  his  family,  the  dis- 
trust of  his  friends,  the  rejection  by  his  towns- 
men—  how  his  enemies  drove  him  from  place 
to  place  till  he  was  obliged  to  leave  Galilee  for- 
ever, and  all  his  work  seemed  to  have  come  to 
nothing,  all  except  the  love  and  loyalty  of  his 
little  band  of  disciples  —  they  clung  to  him  and 
followed  him  to  Jerusalem. 

Then  came  the  depressing  journey  to  the 
Holy  City.  By  contrast  how  well  he  remem- 
bered the  Messianic  Triumphant  Entry,  and 
the  cleansing  of  the  Temple  —  for  a  moment 
again  all  seemed  bright  and  his  hopes  of  the 
Kingdom  were  renewed, —  but  it  was  only  for  a 
dsij.  Obstructions,  conspiracies,  intrigues  fol- 
lowed; his  steps  were  beset  with  snares.  At 
last  came  the  bitterest  trial  of  all,  the  break  in 
the  lines  of  his  nearest  friends ;  he  was  betrayed 


32      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

to  his  enemies  by  one  of  his  own  chosen,  near- 
est friends;  the  rest,  seeing  his  fall  at  hand, 
deserted  their  Master  and  left  him  alone  to  his 
fate. 

All  his  work  seemed  to  have  come  to  nothing, 
all  his  hopes  of  the  Kingdom  faded  away, —  the 
powers  of  evil  had  triumphed,  and  all  was  over. 
Worn  out  by  the  strain  of  the  past  week,  de- 
serted by  all  his  friends,  with  his  hopes  all 
dashed  to  the  ground,  wrung  with  the  phys- 
ical agony  of  his  wounds, —  do  you  wonder 
that  he  uttered  the  despairing  cry,  "  My 
God,  My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  " 
And  yet  the  moment  of  his  greatest  agony 
was  the  eve  of  victory.  Strange  providence 
of  God  that  the  best  human  character  must 
be  perfected  by  suffering.  We  only  admire 
goodness,  but  we  worship  self-sacrifice.  Jesus 
teacliing  the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  in  Galilee 
claims  our  love,  but  we  reverence  and  adore 
him  as  his  shattered  body  hangs  lifeless  on  the 
cross. 

The  blood  of  the  martyrs  becomes  the  seed 
of  the  church.  The  cross  was  a  stumbling- 
block  to  the  Jews,  and  foolishness  to  the  Greeks ; 
but  to  the  Christians  it  became  an  emblem  of 
glory.  The  legend  of  Constantine's  vision  is  a 
continuing  parable  to  the  Christian  Church, 
"  In  hoc  signo  vinces." 

Jesus  died  on  the  cross  and  was  buried.     His 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      33 

disciples,    disheartened   and    terrified,    scattered 
and  fled. 

THE  GERM  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 

The  original  Gospel  of  Mark  ends  with  the 
empty  tomb,  but  Matthew  says  the  eleven  dis- 
ciples went  into  Galilee. 

A  month  later  we  find  them  back  in  Jeru- 
salem, organizing  their  little  fraternity  for  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus,  full  of  life,  full 
of  hope,  full  of  faith!  They  had  seen  their 
Master,  he  still  lived, —  their  return  to  Jeru- 
salem, the  devotion  of  their  lives  to  his  Gospel, 
were  invincible  proof  of  their  confident  faith 
that  they  had  seen  him.  Of  this  we  have  a  con- 
temporary witness  in  Paul,  whose  testimony  is 
direct  and  convincing.  He  had  met  the  apostles 
in  Jerusalem  as  an  enemy  not  more  than  five  or 
six  years  after  the  crucifixion, —  and  again  as 
a  brother  Christian  about  five  or  six  years  later 
still.  His  faith  in  Christ  rested  on  the  Resur- 
rection, and  he  must  have  eagerly  sought  the 
testimony  of  those  who  were  eye-witnesses  of 
what  took  place. 

Writing  to  the  Corinthian  Church  about 
twenty-five  years  after  the  crucifixion,  he  says 
that  after  the  death  of  Jesus  on  the  cross  "  he 
appeared  to  Cephas,  then  to  the  twelve,  then 
he  appeared  to  about  five  hundred  brethren  at 
once  of  whom  the  greater  part  remain  until  now, 


34      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

but  some  are  fallen  asleep ;  then  he  appeared 
to  James,  then  to  all  the  apostles,  and  last  of 
all,  as  to  one  bom  out  of  due  time,  he  appeared 
to  me,  also."  Observe  the  order  of  the  time  — 
first  to  Peter,  then  to  the  twelve,  and  so  on,  last 
of  all  to  Paul. 

A  little  farther  on  in  the  same  letter  from 
which  the  above  passage  is  taken, —  chapter 
15  of  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, — 
Paul  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  his  thought  upon 
the  reappearance  of  Jesus,  and  he  places  it  in 
the  same  category  as  the  promised  resurrection 
of  his  Corinthian  converts.  Christ  was  "  the 
first  fruits  of  them  that  are  asleep,"  but  in  due 
time  these  sleepers,  too,  would  be  raised,  not  in 
the  "  natural  body,"  for  "  flesh  and  blood  can- 
not inherit  the  Kingdom  of  God,  but  in  the 
spiritual  body."  Listen  to  his  words :  "  If 
there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  neither  hath 
Christ  been  raised  .  .  .  but  now  Christ 
hath  been  raised,  the  first  fruits  of  them  that 
are  asleep.  .  .  .  But  some  will  say. 
How  are  the  dead  raised.^  And  with  what  man- 
ner of  body  do  they  come.'^  Thou  foolish  one, 
that  which  thou  sowest  is  not  quickened  except 
it  die  .  ...  but  God  giveth  it  a  body  even 
as  it  pleaseth  him.  ...  So  also  is  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead;  it  is  sown  in  corrup- 
tion; it  is  raised  in  incorruption  ...  it 
is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual 


PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS      35 

body.  .  .  .  Flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  .  .  .  For  this  cor- 
ruptible must  put   on   incorruption." 

Paul,  then,  who  had  heard  the  story  of  the  re- 
appearance of  Jesus  from  the  mouths  of  eye- 
witnesses, believed  that  Jesus  appeared  to  his 
disciples  in  the  spiritual  body,  not  in  the  nat- 
ural body,  for  "  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit 
the  Kingdom  of  God."  He  believed  that  Jesus 
had  conquered  Death,  and  still  lived,  a  promise 
of  eternal  life  to  his  faithful  followers. 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  the  earliest  witnesses, 
Paul  and  Matthew ;  the  story  of  the  reanimated 
earthly  body  grew  up  later,  and  appears  only 
in  the  later  Gospels. 

To  return  to  the  history,  after  the  crucifix- 
ion the  disciples  went  back  to  Galilee.  Peter, 
filled  with  the  love  of  Jesus,  mourning  the  loss 
of  his  Master,  spurred  with  the  shame  of  his 
denial,  and  eager  to  make  amends,  was  the  first 
to  see  Jesus.  He  saw  his  Master  in  the  spirit- 
ual body.  The  only  witness  to  this  vision  is 
Paul,  but  his  evidence  is  the  oldest ;  it  is  the 
testimony  of  a  man  who  knew  Peter  well,  in  per- 
son, and  outweighs  all  subsequent  secondary 
testimony;  Peter  was  the  link  between  Jesus 
and  the  other  disciples.  Of  the  next  appear- 
ance, to  the  twelve,  we  have  reminiscences  in 
Matthew  and  John. 


36      PUBLIC  MINISTRY  OF  JESUS 

The  disciples,  convinced  that  their  master  still 
lived,  ashamed  of  their  desertion,  felt  a  re- 
newal of  their  faith,  their  hope,  their  love; 
coupling  their  new  hopes  with  the  old  prophecy 
in  Daniel,  they  conceived  that  he  would  soon 
return  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power,  to 
establish  the  Kingdom.  In  this  faith  they  went 
back  to  the  Holy  City  to  await  his  return,  and 
behold!  the  germ  of  the  Christian  Church. 


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